Global Summit on WASH and Waste in Health Care Facilities kicks off in Amman

AMMAN — Jordan has developed a national roadmap towards strengthening water access, sanitation and hygiene systems, Health Minister Firas Al Hawari said at the opening of the Global Summit on WASH and Waste in Health Care Facilities on Tuesday.

Hawari in his opening remarks, highlighted the importance of water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in boosting the basic healthcare infrastructure, noting that “Jordan has conducted situational analysis and baseline assessments of WASH in all the healthcare facilities affiliated with the ministry.”

The minister reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to fully implementing decisions related to the upgrading of water, sanitation and hygiene services in healthcare establishments, particularly amid climate change which has a tremendous negative impact on WASH services.

The three-day summit discussed several key themes relating to the value and imperative of safe and sustainable WASH interventions in healthcare facilities. It also saw the launch of the 2023 global report titled “Water, sanitation, hygiene, waste and electricity services in health care facilities: progress on the fundamentals”, which is prepared jointly by the WHO and UNICEF.

Speaking during day one of the summit, Jamela Al Raiby, WHO Representative in Jordan, said that “access to safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene is crucial for the provision of quality care services in healthcare facilities.”

According to Raiby, the inclusion of WASH indicators reduces the risk of disease transmission in outbreak contexts, and plays a significant role in preventing pathogen transmission and enhancing resilience to climate change. “Improving access to WASH…. is necessary for achieving all health and environmental related SDGs,” she said.

UNICEF representative Ann Thomas shared details from the latest update from the WHO-UNICEF report, noting that “governments and partners need to accelerate their efforts to meet SDG targets by 2030”.

She added that there is an urgent need for increased government stewardship and increased financing to support and maintain a sustained WASH and waste improvement.

Presenting the national WASH roadmap and the progress the Health Ministry achieved so far on WASH in healthcare facilities, Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health Ayman Maqableh said that in collaboration with UNICEF, a WASH FIT assessment was conducted in 494 healthcare facilities, including 21 hospitals, 116 comprehensive centres and 371 primary health centres in 2023.

The ministry has developed the situational analysis in 2022, carried out its baseline assessment in 2023, developed the national WASH roadmap and a short-term strategy in 2023, according to Maqableh.

The summit was mainly attended by senior government officials, representatives of WHO and UN agencies, and experts in the field of energy, water and sanitation.